The iPad 3 will only help Apple control the tablet market according to analysts
According to market analysts, IHS-iSuppli, the iPad will only continue to grow in the tablet market share. Unlike the Apple iPhone, which is slowly losing ground to Android, the iPad is expected to continue to grow over the next year.
Steve Jobs introduced the iPad in January 2010. Since that time the iPad has boomed in sales, and even created a market for tablet computers. Global media tablet shipments now are expected to rise to 60 million units in 2011, up 245.9 percent from 17.4 million in 2010, iSuppli said. This is an increase of a little more than a million from the previous iSuppli estimate. About half of this increase is based on the iPad, whose shipments should reach 44.2 million in 2011, up 500,000 units from the previous reports. In 2011 the iPad is expected to account for 74% of all tablet computer sales across the globe.
iSuppli points to Apple’s recent litigation with Samsung as another reason for holding onto the market. So far Apple has made it very hard for makers like Samsung to break through into the market. A recent decision in Germany even stopped the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the EU. This of course does nothing but help the sales of the iPad as it limits any real competition.
iSuppli says other reasons for the success are “strong marketing and retail expansion not only in China but also other developing economies…[and] Apple is still the only tablet player truly benefiting from peripheral advertising, with content providers promoting their iPad-enabled content. The iPad also has profited from being the early favorite in the education space, a factor that will help to boost sales during the third-quarter back-to-school season,”
The iPad 3 is expected to be released early 2012 and will only help Apple keep a grasp on the market. Although the recent HP dump off of tablets may put a blip in iPad sales it of course won’t continue. If anything, it could help Apple long term. Many individuals before either were unaware of the uses of a tablet or that they even existed. With the flooding of the market with the Touchpads the idea of tablet computing may see a surge. This of course will only help Apple as they lead tablet sales. The release of the iPad 3 will offer a new premium device, while rumor is that the iPad 2 may still be produced. This would then be marketed to the lower end entry level market. This is where Apple could really cash in on the new surge of tablet users.
